Scars of The Past Never Fade
by ZerokiWolf
Summary: And the Digidestined thought it was T.K. and Matt who had problems. They never knew what happened to the Yagami children behind closed doors... Rated R for child abuse, swearing and an eventual character death. Not who you think...
1. Realizations and Revelations

The Digidestined all thought that it was Yamato and Takeru with all the family problems. What they didn't know is that Taichi and Hikari were worse. Far worse than anybody thought. Will the rest of digidestined be able to help them before it's too late?

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Digimon, its affiliates, parent corporation, etc. etc. etc. Basically: I just borrow the characters and give them back when I'm done, most times in one piece.

* * *

Scars of The Past Never Fade  
Chapter 1  
Realizations and Revelations

* * *

-Hikari's POV-

Now that I look at these old pictures, it's hard to imagine how mom and dad could have changed so much. They used to be mom and dad. Now they're mother and father. I have bruises. Taichi had scars because of them. Them. They took away our happiness. They took away our digimon. They destroyed them. Agumon and Tailmon put up a good fight.

But it wasn't enough.

It's never enough to satisfy them.

Never.

Taichi had it worse. He's had to deal with them longer than I have. I asked him to other day how many scars he has because of them. He said too many to count.

The basement has turned from a storage area to a torture chamber. Two sets of chains in cages are set down there. Only mother has the key. They're at work now, so we're safe. For now. Taichi is still trying to sleep after last night's beating. Tai says that mom and dad are just angry. But what are they angry about? Not us I hope. We've done everything we can and then some. We saved the world!

But why can't we save ourselves?

Because we're afraid. We fear them far more than they fear any evil digimon. Malomyotismon was a bunny rabbit compared to mom and dad now. I watch as Taichi emerges from the hallway and plops onto the couch next to me. His face is bruised, as are his arms legs and neck. He's still wearing his clothes from yesterday. Shorts and a muscle shirt. Now he's gonna have to wear a turtleneck and pants to hide this set of bruises.

The others are beginning to suspect. Matt came over not too long ago. He wanted to see Taichi. I had seen him angry before, but this was different. He knew. He knew about our secret. The secret that would tear our family apart. No. It won't tear it apart. It's already been torn.

Both Taichi and I jump as someone knocks on the door. Taichi goes to get up but I shove him into his room. I answer the door. _"Hiya, Hikari."_

"_Oh, hi Daisuke. What do you want?"_ I'm used to asking him this, he comes over nearly everyday.

_"I'm not here to ask you out again. I just wanted to know if you knew where T.K. is?"_

I looked at Daisuke like he was crazy and he eyed me in a quizzical manner. He knows. I could sweat that he knows. Or at least; suspects.

_"Well, he's not here I'll tell you that. Why don't you try Matt? He came over earlier maybe he knows."_

_"Oh, well ok thanks."_

I closed the door as Taichi came back out of his room, wearing a pair of baggy blue pants and a deep red T-shirt over a black turtleneck. Apparently he's put on deodorant for once. He knows he's gonna die of heat in that during the middle of summer. There is a nasty bruise on his face. Taichi's just probably gonna lie as to how he got it. But I'm not worrying about that now.

_"Taichi, they know."_

:Chapter 1 End:


	2. The Meeting of the Digidestined

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Digimon, its affiliates, parent corporation, etc. etc. etc. Basically: I just borrow the characters and give them back when I'm done, most times in one piece.

* * *

Scars of The Past Never Fade  
Chapter 2  
Meeting of The Digidestined

* * *

-Tai's POV-

_"They know, Tai. They know the secret."_

I listened to Kari and felt my jaw drop. Great. Now we were going to get taken away from mom and dad. _"Who found out?"_

Kari looked at me sadly. _"Davis and Matt figured it out, I think."_

I sighed, rubbing my hand over my bruised neck, flinching slightly. _"Thank god Mimi isn't here anymore. She'd be inspecting every speck of the house for any evidence."_

Kari groaned. _"What are we going to do?"_ I could hear the desperation in her voice, and it made my gut twist.

_"We talk to Matt and Davis. You talk you Davis. I'll talk to Matt."_

Kari nodded to me. _"Okay onii-chan."_

I watched as Kari scurried off to get dressed. I clenched my stomach as another hunger pang shot through my abdominal area. I needed food. We needed food. I walked towards the refrigerator and opened it. Empty.

With the exception of a sweet potato. One stupid sweet potato.

I sighed and pulled it out of the crisper. Mom had apparently bought this recently because there was no mold or fungus on it. I preheated the oven and tossed the sweet potato into a glass pan then into the oven. Kari came back to find me standing across the oven watching the timer closely. _"What are cooking?"_ she asked. I jumped and caused a plate to fall and shatter upon the floor. _"Damn it."_ I mutter to myself. Kari is now shooting apologies at me because I was still barefoot and glass has surrounded me in the kitchen. DING

The timer for the oven! I'm too hungry to notice the stabbing pain in my feet as I seize an oven mitt and open the oven and pull the sweet potato out and put the pan onto the stovetop with a clatter and hastily turn the oven off. Only then do I look down and notice that there is a two-inch piece of glass stabbed through the middle of my foot. Every known swear word under the sun exploded from my mouth.

Kari grabbed the broom from between the counter and the refrigerator and swept the glass to the corners of the kitchen to be dealt with later. I hobbled to the table and sat at one of the chairs. She sped away to the bathroom where she retrieved three things; gauze pad, medical tape, and alcohol. I gripped the glass firmly and closed my eyes as a yanked it out, screaming in pain in the process. I gave Kari the look. The look that made her put the alcohol on the table. I grabbed the gauze and smashed it onto the wound and then the medical tape and used the entire roll around my foot. Lastly, I limped into the bathroom and grabbed an ace wrap and wrapped that around my foot as well.

I stomped into my room and pulled on some socks. And walked back out in the kitchen and sliced the sweet potato and put one half on two plates and stab a fork in each half. I limp towards the table and place the plate in front of Kari. She immediately began eating faster than Davis could scarf down food. That said something.

Later I tried to call Matt, but he wasn't home. Kari tried Davis but such luck with her either.

-End of Tai's POV-

* * *

All the digidestined were sitting in the grass in the park, and all were in complete uproar.

_"That's crazy Davis! They aren't being abused! Use older digidestined would have known by now!"_ Sora was about three inches from the second gogglehead's face and spitting mad.

_"Then explain the brusies that Kari and Tai get every week! Explain it to me! Give me proof, Sora!"_

This seemed to shut Sora up. Izzy was calmly talking with Cody about how the Kamiya siblings could be getting bruised and cut and such. Joe had borrowed Izzy's computer and was searching internet medical sites for any diseases or disorders that caused bruising. Matt was going at it with Yolei who protested that they were not being abused. Ken and T.K. were possibly the only one being annoyed by everyone's yelling.

T.K. eventually stood up and put his fingers to his mouth and let forth a high pitched whistle. A couple of dogs nearby barked and howled while Ken had stuck his finger in his ear, trying to get it to stop ringing.

_"Alright, now that all of you are quiet!"_ T.K. glared at Sora and Davis who were angrily whispering to each other. They shut up immediately.

_"Thank you. Now Davis, Matt, and myself have called you here because we believe that Tai and Kari are not telling us something important. We believe that their parents are abusing them."_

_"Are you nuts T.K.? What proof do you have that they are being abused?"_ Yolei spoke up.

_"I don't have any proof that they are, and unless you can give me proof that states otherwise, Yolei; I will follow my gut feeling. Something bad is going to happen soon."_

:Chapter 2 End:


	3. Welcome To Hell

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Digimon, its affiliates, parent corporation, etc. etc. etc. Basically: I just borrow the characters and give them back when I'm done, most times in one piece

* * *

Scars of the Past Never Fade  
Chapter 3  
Welcome To Hell

* * *

-Kari's POV-

_"Now maybe you two will learn to not break things."_

I heard mother say these words, they sounded sinister almost. She was drunk, Tai had yelled at her when she said that the plate breaking was my fault. Tai deserved the crest of Courage. But now, his heart was failing him. His courage was dwindling. It barely sparked anymore, but his last yell could never be taken away from him, there was always one to back it up.

I had never seen Tai get beaten this badly before. Mother has chained him to the wall, where he hung; he was probably out like a light. His face was black and blue. The area right below his hair on the right side of his face was bleeding. Tai flinched every so often. So he wasn't out. I could see through the T-shirt that he was wearing, which had large holes in it. An unsightly lump. One of his ribs was broken.

I myself was beaten. My vision is slightly blurry. I can barely make out Tai's hanging frame now. I had never physically felt this bad before. My stomach ached with the need for food. My arms and legs are covered in massive bruises and it hurts to move. _"Tai?"_ I call to him softly. _"Tai?"_ I call again. Onii-chan seems to be struggling to find his voice. _"Yeah?"_ He calls back. I can see that look of pain flash across his face. Tai is hurting but he will still talk.

_"How long until we get out of here?"_ I'm asking him. Just to have a little hope. If only T.K. were here.

_"Tomorrow. We'll get out stuff together. We'll run away. I'm sure T.K.'s mom or Davis will let us stay. Mom and dad will go to jail, we'll go back to school, we'll go to Digiworld and go find Agumon and Gatomon. All the others will come to. We'll get an adoptive family so we won't have to split up. We'll always stay together. I'll never leave you alone. Never."_

I smiled as Tai rambled. As hopeless as this all seemed, he still told that fake little story to cheer us both up. I watch as his head turns up to look at me from across the small room. His eyes are ridden with tears, ready to fall. But his eyes are so forlorn as well. His auburn hair has some of his own blood lingering in it. Behind his bruised face I can find a small smile, a forced smile. A fake smile.

I hated that fake smile. Through the bars of my cold cage, I watch Tai silently. I wanted to rush over and help him, I wanted so much to go call T.K and Matt and tell them to come over quickly and that Tai needed help. I just wished I could become as small as Salamon was and squeeze through the bars of this cage. Tai's face was turned down again and as he stared at the cold and unforgiving ground.

I look upwards to the latch which is closed by a lock. I know this lock. I remember it being on the old liquor cabinet before mom and dad turned to the bottle. My eyes search the floor for something. Anything that could help me. A wood nail! Perfect!

My bruised arm reaches out of the cage, trying to pull to nail towards me. I place the nail into the keyhole of the lock and begin twisting it around and listening intently to the metal scraping.

'click'

My ears caught the sound easily and pulled the lock out quickly. Tai looks back up at me and his eyes widen. He was surprised. I open the door, praying to god that the hinges don't squeak. They don't, and my bare feet carry me over the Tai, where he began shooting me a question but I place my hand over his mouth and shut him up. I begin to pick at his locks, finding them harder than my one had been.

'click'

The first lock was undone.

Now the second. I twisted the wood nail around until the second click sounded Tai's freedom.

I watch my brother crumple to the ground. He was weak, and trying his best to stay awake. I pull him to his feet, he helped of course. I can't lift onii-chan by myself. _"How about we get out now?" _Tai smiles at me, a true smile. His courage is rising. I can tell. Tai nods, he can't seem to talk now. Both he and I start up the stairs. We can hear the T.V. through the door, and mom's snoring. Tai sat on the stairs and he whispers to me to get the phone and quietly.

Slowly I open the basement door, it creaked slightly; making me tense. I place someone's shoe, most likely Tai's against the door to stop it from moving. Much like Gatomon used to move, my feet carry me to the kitchen and I grab the phone quickly, using the shadows as my cover. It's about 10:30 at night but we are wide awake.

I remove the shoe from the door as I hand the phone to Tai, who walks back down the stairs into the cold gloom. I close the door again, creaking one more time but mom still doesn't wake up. We can still hear her snoring over the sound of the T.V.

My feet go back downstairs. And I retreat to Tai who is sitting cross- legged on the ground, clutching his broken rib gently and going through the caller I.D. to find T.K. and Matt's phone numbers.

We found Matt's first and hit dial. For the first two rings nobody picked up. On the third ring, Tai's right ear met the angry voice of Matt screaming into the phone. I giggled lightly as Tai held the phone at arm length and rubbed the inside of his left ear, hoping to stop the ringing in his ear while Matt continued to rage which I could vaguely make out.

_"What the hell is wrong with you people! Calling at 10:45 at night! Have you no manners! Call during the day damnit!"_

Tai put the receiver back to his ear and whispered. _"Matt, calm down. It's me, it's Tai."_

Matt sighed lightly into the phone with relief. "Tai? Oh good. I thought you were some girls. They've been stalking and calling constantly."

Tai laughed lightly at Matt's predicament, which jarred his broken rib. He sucked a breath and barely held back a gasp of pain. Matt however, picked up on it. I could hear him on the other end, firing off questions to quickly for Tai to answer. It was good to know that Matt was such a good friend, but the fact that is questions pointed directly to what our situation was drove it home, we'd done a bad job hiding this.

"_Tai? Are you okay? What's wrong? Where are you? Are you hurt?"_

I watched as Tai's face contorted in pain as he sucked in breath to speak. _"No. We need help. Everybody's help. Call everybody else. Davis, Yolei, Cody, Ken, Sora, T.K., Joe, Izzy, the whole bit. Call the police. Tell them to come over here at 6:00 o'clock tomorrow and tell them that something bad has been happening for a long time now. Please."_

If Matt knew why Tai was asking him to do this, he didn't let him know. He sounded confused when he responded. _"Why, Tai?"_

Tai got angry now. He whispered somewhat louder than he should have. _"Just do it!"_

Footsteps above brought us back to reality a little too late. Mother came downstairs, spotting me and onii-chan, out of our binds and on the phone! Her face was the picture of indignant rage as she stormed down the stairs.

Tai saw mother and instantly threw the phone away, it slid behind some boxes. But he had forgotten to turn it off. Matt could hear what happened next.

Tai stood in front of me as mother landed a punch on his already bruised jaw, snapping his head sideways. She drunkenly grabbed at a copper pipe, swinging it to Tai's stomach. He groaned and hit the floor where mom rained more blows down on him. Tai had curled in on himself, covering his head with his hands as he sought to try and protect himself.

-End of Kari's POV-

* * *

-Matt's POV-

I heard Tai call and then the abuse begin. I felt the blood drain from my face. _"Dad! Dad! Get in here! I need you!"_

Dad came running quickly; he saw my horrified expression and asked quickly. _"What's wrong?"_

I threw the phone at him where upon he listened to Kari's pleads and sobs for their mother to stop beating Tai. And when mother turned on her daughter, he lost the color in his face too as her screams resonated over the phone. He grabbed at his cell phone, throwing phone numbers in with shaking fingers faster than I could ever hope to manage in the situation.

Less than 30 minutes after my dad and I called everyone, they all stood in my living room, everybody was wide awake. They all got the message. Sora, T.K., Davis, Yolei, Cody, Izzy, and Joe all stood in the living room. Ken was still on his way. Not a minute later did I hear a frantic pounding on the front door. Ken came in, panting and tired. _"Came...as...soon...as...I...could..."_

It didn't really matter as we all ran to Tai and Kari's apartment. The police were already there, pulling Kari and Tai's struggling mom through the door while she screamed death threats at everybody on the scene. Their father came silently, bleeding from his scalp. He was sober, unlike his wife.

-End of Matt's POV—

* * *

-Tai's POV-

Oh god. Kill me now. Take me away. I don't want to feel this anymore. Everything hurts.

Is this what hell feels like?

_"Tai..."_

I can hear Kari's voice. Barely, it's like she's far away or as if she were nothing more than a whisper.

_"Tai..."_

It is Kari. She's nearly rasping as I am. What did we ever do to mother to make her so angry? Dad. He saved us. Thank god. I can see many people stomping down the stairs, yelling to people above but just watching. I saw the blurry outline of someone leaning down next to Kari. T.K. his blonde hair was a dead giveaway. Another head of blonde hair leaned down near me. I couldn't make out any facial features, and his voice was faraway too.

"_Tai, why didn't you tell us?"_

They knew. Davis and Matt had been the first. How did they known? How did they find out?

I can't move. It hurts to move. I can't help but scream as two people lift me off of the cold floor. T.K. and Matt stepped backwards and away from us, casting uneasy glances to each other.

I heard someone else scream after me. Kari. I need to help her but I can't. I try moving, despite the pain raging through my body, tears welling in my eyes. Someone pushes me back, keeping me from moving. _"Dad?"_ I can barely hear myself whisper before I finally let go, and let the darkness take me…

:Chapter 3 End:


	4. Away

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Digimon, its affiliates, parent corporation, etc. etc. etc. Basically: I just borrow the characters and give them back when I'm done, most times in one piece

* * *

Scars of the Past Never Fade  
Chapter 4  
Away

* * *

-Tai's POV-

I heard someone else scream after me. Kari. I need to help her but I can't. Someone is holding me down. _"Dad?"_ I can barely hear myself whisper. Barely. Just barely...

-End of Tai's POV-

* * *

-Sora's POV-

I never thought...that something like that could happen.

I had always thought that Tai didn't sleep like he should've at night whenever he fell asleep in class and the teacher had to rap on his desk with a ruler.

The bruises, I always thought he was just playing a little too rough with his soccer buddies. Everybody was at fault for not asking sooner, making them divulge their secret.

Beep...beep…..beep…..

I can't stand sitting here in front of their beds, wondering what's going through their minds. Listening to these machines breathe for them. I can hear T.K. outside, as he punches a wall. He's probably thinking along the same lines that I am. He lives to protect Kari. He still hasn't asked her to be his girlfriend, now I think he regrets not asking sooner.

-End of Sora's POV-

* * *

-T.K.'s POV-

God damnit! Why didn't I do anything sooner? Why didn't I just burst into their house and beat the living crap out of their mother?

I should have.

She doesn't deserve to exist. I punched the wall again, feeling it rasp against my knuckles. It hurt, but not as much as the Kari and Tai were.

_"Ow!"_

I looked over to my left, where the others were sitting or standing. Tai and Kari's dad is standing alone, staring at the wall opposite of him, looking both very tired, ragged, and beaten. They had stitched his scalp but I still can't help but feel my anger rise, like magma out of a volcano. He never did anything to try and stop her from beating them. That was just as bad as what she was doing. Now for all I know, Kari could be going away or dying and I will never see her smile again. I swear to god if their mother ever even touches them again, I'll try and kill her. I looked at him more closely, looking at the bruises on his arms and face. I couldn't help but wonder, if he had tried to help them. Perhaps too little, too late; but still.

_"Hey! What do you think you're doing!"_

My head snapped to me left, where Yolei and Joe were running towards me, Joe holding Koromon and Yolei holding Salamon.

_"You got them back. What took you so long?"_ I stated as Joe stopped with Yolei next to him.

Joe nearly smacked me over the head as Koromon and Salamon bounce and walk into Tai and Kari's room. I distinctly heard Koromon smash a vase of flowers on a table. Salamon on the other hand, turned a very violent shade of red and was gritting her teeth to keep from launching out the door and running to try and kill Mrs. Kamiya at the police station two streets away. I could actually hear the digi-enamel on Salamon's teeth moving back and forth, grating like rough sandpaper on wood.

I plopped myself into one of the many uncomfortable chairs outside the room as people slowly filtered out, leaving only me, Davis, Sora, and Mr. Kamiya left alone. Davis seemed to be stewing in the corner of the room, glaring at Mr. Kamiya with a glare I hadn't seen since we all fought MaloMyotismon. If looks could kill, Mr. Kamiya would be a smoldering pile of ash on the floor.

I looked at Sora, she was staring at the cold tiles on the floor, like she was expecting Biyomon to pop up and comfort her. Apparently, she found none. Slowly I stood up and walked into the room, sitting next to Kari, staring at her unmoving and silent face.

Both the Kamiya children looked like they'd been through hell and back.

Twice.

That said something. That said _alot_. Kari didn't look as bad as Tai did, and her light by now, remained only a spark. Tai's courage so far, had dwindled into near nothing. Like the dying ashes of a campfire, that refused with everything they had to go keep from going out. My hope, I could feel, was fading away, dripping from my heart. I couldn't hope that by some damn miracle that Tai and Kari would be back to themselves again.

As much as I wanted to wish that, Miracles weren't my department; that was Davis' specialty. I sighed as I put my head in my hands. For once, I wasn't wearing my hat and my currently messy hair seemed to stand out from the clean and precise look of the hospital.

What hope was there now?

-End of T.K.'s POV-

* * *

-Davis' POV-

I should kill him, I should grab his neck and just wring it slowly and painfully, so he can know what Kari and Tai felt. Or at least a fraction of what they felt. I'm sure even 1/10 of what they feel would be enough to drive him insane. I can see T.K. across the room, watching me with dulled eyes. He's just as angry as me, just easier at hiding it. Kari and Tai looked so pale, so lifeless. I feel like I should've done something, anything, everything I could've. Koromon is sitting in a chair beside Tai's bed, and Salamon is curled up at the end of Kari's, right near her feet. If Tai and Kari weren't here in the hospital I would've said that Salamon looked cute like that. I watch in my brooding silence as Mr. Kamiya leaves and fifteen minutes later, comes back with four cups of coffee. He doesn't say anything but T.K. and Sora take theirs. I don't even move. He shrugs and put the last cup down on a table.

Despite the fact most of us were drinking coffee, I can see the others slowly drift off to sleep, Sora being the first to call it a night. T.K. followed not soon after as did Mr. Kamiya. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, to keep sleep at bay. Knowing that I would fall asleep staying here, I got up and left the room, slowly shutting the door behind me. The hospital was not extremely well lit right now, being about currently 12:30 in the morning, the sun wasn't even up yet. Slowly I wandered, my feet placing themselves forwards, without purpose as I stared at the floor. I didn't notice it at the time, but my wandering had brought me to what was called, 'The Game Room.' which at the current moment in time was abandoned.

Shrugging lightly, I opened the door switching on the light. It wasn't too bad of a place. The couches I discovered, were much more comfortable than the chair I had been sitting in for awhile. There was a PS2, Air hockey, and other things. The T.V. apparently, had basic cable so I turned it on with the remote, which stuck to the seat with Velcro. Flipping through the channels, nothing but junk. Hospitals never got any of the good channels. Turning the T.V. off, I left the gaming room, shutting the lights off as I left.

The halls were strangely silent, like something here was setting its will against me; something here didn't seem to like me very much. Still, walking down the dark ways back to the room, despite the fact that the hallways were eerily silent, like death himself was patrolling the darkness, ready to pluck me from the grasps of life in a mere second.

Or maybe it was because most of the doctors were on break.

Apparently, one of them wasn't and I nearly jumped out of my skin as he walked out of one of the rooms, bumping into me. He looked down at me, said nothing and helped me up. _"Sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going."_ I dusted myself off. _"It's okay."_

I continued back to the room, slowly opening the door and closing it as I looked back towards those that were asleep. T.K. was stretched out over three chairs, Sora was curled up on two chairs while Mr. Kamiya was slumped over in a chair. I walked towards my chair in the corner, leaned it back until it rested against the wall, folded my arms across my chest and felt sleep take me...

-End of Davis' POV-


	5. Shine On, Little Light

Disclaimer: I do not own anything partaining to Digimon, it's affiliates, parent corporation, etc. etc. etc. Basically: I just borrow the characters and give them back when I'm done, most times in one piece.

* * *

Scars of The Past Never Fade  
Chapter 5  
Shine On, Little Light

* * *

-T.K.'s POV-

I never did believe that anything like this could happen to Kari. I still can't. It really didn't matter whether or not I believed that this could or would happen to the Kamiya kids. It happened anyways. I can't change that, I know I can't. My hair was still mussed up as the nurse came in to check on them. Her gentle, pitying gaze floated over to me, which was returned with an empty stare. Sighing lightly, I rose to my feet, wobbled lightly as my muscles protested against the sudden movement and strided to where Davis was still sleeping with his chair leaned against the wall and poked him on his blue jacket. He mumbled something in his sleep before I grabbed Tai's empty bedpan and sent it over Davis's abnormally thick skull. Davis yelped and fell off his chair, landing on the tiled floor with a loud 'thwack'

He got up, rubbing his head lightly before his gaze turned to me_."Geez T.G. Easy on the head. My skull is thick but it can only take so much damage."_

I snorted, digging my knuckles into his scalp._"Well, if you'd have woken up, I wouldn't have smashed you over the head with Tai's bedpan."_I replied, holding up Tai's bedpan, which had a large dent on the bottom where Davis's head had made contact.

Davis looked towards Tai and Kari. He demeanor changed to something close to sorrow._"Anything?"_He asked, looking towards me. I could only silently shake my head. Davis sighed and looked at the ground. It was surprising. I had never seen Tai nearly cry. Davis looked on the edge of just either melting or just shriveling up and disappearing altogether. Davis looked…weakened. He looked back up at me and nodded silently. And he was still trying to hide it. He hated being here, praying that Kari and Tai were going to wake up soon so that we could all sleep a little better at night.

_"Look Davis, I gotta go home and shower at least. Maybe get some better sleep than I can here. You gonna be alright?"_

The boy nodded to me before a removed my jacket from the coat rack and made my to the door. I turned and looked at Davis, he was sitting tall and straight, watching Tai and Kari like some doberman watchdog._"It's all gonna be alright, Davis."_

He gave a somewhat empty nod before I headed out, pulling my jacket on as walked down the hall and past many room of many suffering people, nurses, doctors and visitors. A calm, nearly soothing voice in one room I passed made my heart wretch. There was a mother, sitting next to her son, who looked maybe eight. He had been in a car accident it seemed with his older brother. His older brother had died when a truck had hit the car and sent it into a light pole. The eight year old kept repeating like a mantra that it had been his fault. I walked past quickly, my feet tapping on the floor lightly before I entered the elevator with a few other people. The elevator dinged and I walked into the first floor of the hospital, the doors sliding away as I exited and my eyes screamed as they met the light of day again.

The sun was shining and I was crying. What if they didn't make it? What if Tai and Kari died? Oh god, I'd kill myself if it meant that Kari could stay alive. My feet led me down to the small bike rack that was next to the doors where I locked my bike. Twisting the combination in the lockmaster lock, I pulled the stainless steel chain off of the front tire and hung it around my neck while locking again with the lock. Getting on the bike, I began to pedal down and away from the hospital. It was relatively cool day and there weren't many cars on the road surprisingly. My thoughts wandered back to Tai and Kari. Maybe it wasn't all gonna be alright like I'd told Davis. Maybe I was just trying to fool myself.

I was so concentrated on the whole situation that I didn't notice the 4x4 truck making it's way down the street while I rode across…

-End of T.K.'s POV-

* * *

-Davis's POV-

Thank god that asshole left. Maybe he went to join his bitch wife at the police station. Kari is silent as ever, as is Tai. I want them to wake up so badly. I removed my D-Terminal from my jacket pocket and stared at its blank screen, the endless abyss of a black void. Then it sprang to life, the Digi-Egg of Miracles leaping onto the screen in all its golden purity. It shined lightly on the screen, gleaming like Magnamon's armor did when Veemon armor digivolved with it.

_"Davis?"_

I looked around quickly, someone had just said my name. My D-Terminal screen had darkened again, becoming that endless void again. Nobody was in the room. And the voice sounded soft spoken, half rasp…

_"Over here Davis."_

My eyes snapped in moments to Kari. Her eyes were half open, and she had the smallest smile I had ever seen her give over her face. I had the impulse to jump up and start shouting some strange gibberish to the ceiling among them, 'Thank you god!' I merely smiled and leaned forward to gain a better look at Kari's pale face, which seemed to be regaining color, I noticed. Tailmon was by now very much awake and she walked towards Kari slowly, her ears lowered.

Kari's half lidded eyes shined and tears rolled down her face on the very sight of Tailmon again. She moved her arms open lightly as Tailmon leaped back into them, where she belonged now. Kari buried her eyes into Tailmon's fur. Tailmon was hugging Kari around her neck, crying and sobbing, saying that she was sorry she couldn't protect Kari and Tai. I felt kinda left out I have to tell the truth but Tailmon and Kari hadn't seen each other since Mrs. Kamiya destroyed Tailmon by lobbing her over the head with a frying pan over and over until she disintegrated into digital data and returned to Digi-World again.

Kari looked over at me, smiling lightly_."Where's Tai?"_She rasped. I stopped smiling and my face lowered to the ground and I motioned to the bed next Kari's own. She turned her head to her brother's bruised face and torn apart body. She stopped smiling and I could see tears forming in her eyes. I kept looking at the floor. I couldn't bring myself to look at Kari again.

I heard a crash from somewhere down the street, but shrugged it off as nothing. Kari looked back to me and I looked up at her, putting on a semi fake smile_."I'm gonna go call the others. They'll all be excited to hear you're awake."_She nodded to me and smiled again, those tears of hers still rolling down her cheeks. I got up and she rasped again._"Thanks Davis."_

I nodded as I left to the room and made my way to a desk nearby, asking the lady there if I could get a bunch of change for the pay phone. She gave me that pitying look and I glared back. While I couldn't control what she did, I hated being pitied above a lot of things. She gave me change and I handed over cash.

Making my way to the nearest pay phone, I deposited some coins and called Matt. He picked up only after two rings._"Davis, this had better be really good or I'm going to drive up to that hospital and beat you if it's not."_I sighed into the phone. Great so Matt had lost sleep. He always snapped when he was tired. Davis had lost a few chunks of hair before when Matt kept true to his promises when he was tired.

_"Kari's awake."_

Matt's moods were known nowadays to change fairly quickly over hours. But he managed to beat his one hour record with thirty seconds. He screamed into the phone so loudly that I had to hold it at arm's length like it was going to explode in order to stick a finger in my ear make sure my eardrum was still in one piece and judging from the loud thumping coming from the phone, Matt was leaping around with his cordless still in his hand while screaming some amount of gibberish much like what I had wanted to scream earlier. Once I ensured that it was safe to bring the phone back to my ear and Matt's voice came back on.

_"What about Tai? Is he awake, too?"_

I shook my head, before remembering that this was a phone because I didn't want say it. Saying it only made the fact all the more final that Tai, my idol, Tai, was still out of it.

_"No. Sorry."_

Clearly, this answer was not one what Matt had expected and it sounded like Matt had slumped into a chair.

_"Okay. Call me again when Tai's awake."_

I nodded again, remembering yet again that this was a phone._"Yeah. I will."_

Matt hung up and I repeated the process with all the rest of digidestined with similar reactions. Sora did not like to hear the fact that Tai was still not awake. It sounded like she started crying and hitting something. Most likely a pillow or something relatively soft and squishy. I sighed as I finished the last call which was to hopefully, T.K.'s house but he must've been showering or sleeping I thought. I didn't think I was going to end up with another friend in the hospital. I returned to the Kamiya's room. Kari seemed to be half in a dream. She looked so much more peaceful than before. It was much better to see her with a little color than pale and looking dead. She smiled and opened her eyes again.

_"Matt's glad to hear you're awake, he nearly made my eardrum burst. Couldn't get ahold of T.H. though."_

Kari smiled again._"It's T.K."_She rasped. I always found it funny when Kari reprimanded me when I said T.K.'s name wrong, it seemed that she did too. I sat down next to her bed and took her hand, resting my head against it lightly. _"I'm sorry, Kari."_I didn't notice it when she looked at me strangely._"Sorry for what, Davis?_"

I looked back up to her and her shining eyes._"I'm sorry that I didn't notice it earlier, what was happening with you guys. If I'd known I would've gotten you guys away from your mother."_Kari shook her head._"No you shouldn't be sorry. I should be saying that to you for not telling you guys about what was happening."_I sighed and leaned back in my chair, sighing lightly as Kari went back to sleep. She looked so like an angel when she slept…

-End of Davis's POV-

:Chapter 5 end:

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Okay guys, I am so sorry I haven't updated this in like, a year or months or whatever but I couldn't find the time for awhile. And school started so forgive me. But, the long anticipated chapter five! Please do RR, I love to hear from readers. Also, thanks to those who placed this fanfic on their favorite stories lists, I love you all! Expect for those who flame this fic to which I will start flaming the heck out of theirs in return if I must. (You guys all know who you are!)

Please click the little button below and review me! I live off of reviews and comments and such. Any ideas you readers out there would find interesting to throw into the plot, tell me, I may be able to spin it into my already existing ideas. Note: Nothing sexual. No lemons for me.

Click the little button and review please!

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EDIT: 8/14/2011

Wow. Simply wow. I started writing this when I was in middle school. I can't believe you guys are still reviewing it! Obviously, things have changed and I have grown up. For the sake of the readers who have placed this story on their watch lists and the people that have reviewed, whether now or 7 years ago I will do my best to finish this story. I am in college now, so I can't guarantee anything and my writing style may have changed a bit, but hopefully for the better.

Thank you to all of the people that have watched, added, faved, and reviewed this story. We'll see about an ending because I don't remember how I originally wanted it to end in the first place but hopefully you guys will like it.

Thank you so much

-ZerokiWolf


	6. Spark of Courage

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Digimon, its affiliates, parent corporation, etc. etc. etc. Basically: I just borrow the characters and give them back when I'm done, most times in one piece.

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Scars of The Past Never Fade  
Chapter 6  
Spark of Courage

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-Tai's POV-

'Where am I?'

Everything around him was dark, and he felt numb. He could see nothing, except for himself. Tai couldn't tell if he was floating or sinking, if he was here or there. He could hear voices, like whispers from a dream that he could only half remember.

"_Tai, why didn't you tell us?"_

Tai finally was able to make some sense of the fact that he seemed to be sinking further and away from the voices. He felt a sort of ground come up beneath him, and he was no longer falling. Staring above him, Tai could see nothing. There was only blackness here, blackness and himself. It seemed half of eternity before Tai slowly rolled to his side, using his arms to lift himself up to his knees first, then his feet. He didn't understand why, he felt so _tired. _Wobbling on his feet, Tai slowly caught his balance as he still stared around, wondering where he was.

'This isn't digi-world, I know that.'

Slowly, Tai placed one foot forward, cursing as he felt his leg go underneath him, sending him nearly face first into the ground, arms protecting his face from the worse of the fall. He sighed, a heavy deep sound that rattled in his lungs. For a moment, he didn't move. He just felt so tired, like he'd been fighting for years and he no longer had to. All he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and never wake up. Tai put his head face down on his arms, his hands bunching into his wild hair.

"_Tai."_

That voice…it was so familiar. From so long ago it seemed, another distant half-remembered voice.

"_I miss you."_

A small thing brushed against his face, though Tai couldn't see it, even when he looked upwards. The darkness around him kept him from seeing as such.

"_Please come back Tai. I'm no brave little warrior when you're not here."_

Tai looked down at his neck and chest, finding tiny rivulets of water there. Looking a moment, he realized that there wasn't enough to be water. They were tears, little shining tears. Another deep sigh and Tai wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort his little friend. But he couldn't see him, much less embrace him in hug.

'Oh, Koromon. I miss you too.'

-End of Tai's POV-

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-Kari's POV-

She answered the questions to best of her ability, trying her best to tell them all. Between the police, child protection services, doctors, nurses, and the occasional digidestined visitor, Kari spent most of her 'free time' sleeping. She felt exhausted with everything.

Then there was Tai.

Looking at her broken brother, and Koromon lying on his chest, who spent some of his time crying at the loss of his best friend and digidestined partner. Koromon wanted him back, they all did. Kari didn't know where Tai was in his head, but he seemed very far away. He didn't respond to talking near as they knew of. He hadn't moved, and Koromon seemed to be losing hope that Tai would come back to them, somehow. He'd always been so strong, always tried to protect her, usually succeeding in that regard. To see him so broken, so weak; it didn't feel like Tai was in the bed next to her.

A deep sigh made its presence known from the door. Turning her head, Kari looked at Matt. He looked so very tired, so worn out, and…upset. In fact, Matt looked on the edge of tears. Did he know something that she didn't?

He waved piteously, sinking into a chair next to her, watching Tai and Koromon silently before he looked at her. Kari couldn't help but wonder what had Matt in such a state. She soon got her answer.

"_T.K. had an accident."_

Kari stared at Matt a moment. _"What happened to him?"_ Not that Kari didn't care about T.K., but she was still tired, and didn't have much energy to mount a major worrying fit. Inside, she was terrified of what Matt was going to say.

"_He was riding his bike home, some four by four was going down the street and the driver fell asleep at the wheel. It was an accident. T.K's okay, far as they can tell. The driver woke up in time to swerve the truck, and sent it into a lightpole. He only caught the back tire of T.K's bike and he was thrown off from the impact. He hit the side of a building and hit his head. The doctors say he was really lucky, got off with a few broken bones, a cracked skull, and a concussion. They say he'll be okay."_

She nodded lightly as Matt finished the story. He looked so lost right now, so overwhelmed by the events of the past few days. The blonde looked to Tai again, and Kari was not lost on his thoughts.

"_Nothing yet."_

Matt looked back to her before he put his head in his hands, fingers tangling in his unkempt hair. Kari reached her hand out, trying to be comforting to Matt as best as she could. She ran her hand over the back of his head, moving her hand in slow, lazy circles. His shoulders shook a moment before she heard him sobbing quietly. Normally, Tai would've been Matt's friend through the ordeal with T.K. But with him in the state that he was in now, Matt was finding himself fighting a losing battle with handling this by himself.

"_It'll be okay, Matt."_

Kari sincerely hoped that it would be.

-End Kari's POV-

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-General POV-

Looking around again, Tai sighed again, moving to sit against what seemed to be a corner, though he still couldn't see the walls.

'But why would anyone want me back? I'm no warrior. I don't deserve the crest of courage.'

He let the thoughts creep over him, the darkness closing in on him, what light he seemed to have been emitting began to slowly dim, bringing the shadows closer.

'I couldn't even protect Kari from mom. I'm a horrible big brother, and a horrible friend. I didn't trust the others; that they would help us.'

Tai looked at the darkness that lingered on his skin, swirling lightly as it encroached closer on him. He didn't see any reason to stop it. What good was he if he couldn't have protected Kari?

Wait….Kari.

He looked around frantically, twisting and turning his numb body. Where was she? If she wasn't here, where was she? Had mother gotten her? Was she with another family? In the hospital? Dead?

The last option terrified Tai more than anything ever had before. Even fighting Apocalymon hadn't been this terrifying. It also enraged him. If mother had killed her…Tai didn't know what he'd do. The cops would have to lock him up. He'd kill her himself if she'd taken Kari way from them, from their friends.

She had to be, why hadn't he heard her voice otherwise? If there was anyone that Tai would go through hell countless times, it was his little sister. He'd give anything to make sure that she was okay, that bore the brunt of the pain.

She had to be gone. He'd always answer her call, no matter how far. It was his job as her big brother. If she wasn't, he needed to find her.

Standing, the shadows seemed to melt away, receding from whence they came as Tai felt something akin in rage well inside him. Raw, desperate, wild, rage filled him and he could hear voices again, many of them shouting things he didn't understand. Medical terms it seemed but Tai wasn't entirely sure of that. The darkness receeded, and he saw white. White blankets, coats, walls, curtains, tables and chairs. It was morning, but Tai didn't take notice of that. He didn't see much more, acting on instinct as he fought the hands that held him down while he screamed, rage boiling over as he scrambled, twisted, flailed and thrashed. Something pulled against his arm and he felt pain as something pulled away, clearly having been embedded in it.

An alarm was raised, blaring as Tai looked around blindly, ignoring all other faces as he tried to find his sister. More words were shouted, more hands grabbed at him, and they forced him backwards, back into a pillow that was supposed to be comfortable but felt like it was filled with chunks of concrete. He opened his mouth and screamed his rage again, a raw and terrible sound that did not sound like him.

"_Tai!"_

It was a smaller voice than the others, but it was what he'd been trying to find. He continued to twist underneath the hands of his tormentors, kicking off one and punching another in the face as he tried to get his ungainly legs beneath him. He succeeded only slightly, managing to get more upwards on the bed, but could not get off of it.

"_TAI!"_

Kari's voice rang through the room one more time, and Tai's face snapped so quickly to the left that Matt could've sworn that he heard his neck crack. It was only a moment's glance but it made Tai's heart soar. Until more doctors came to restrain him, and brought a sedative with them. Tai fought them again, with all the fervor of the previous moment, twisting and flailing and kicking as one each grabbed his legs and arms and held him still. He continued to try and raise himself off of the bed, feeling pain with each movement as they restrained him, the sound of Velcro loud in the room before the doctor's let go one more time. He continued to squirm, he couldn't be tied down! Mother would come now, she always knew when Tai was at his weakest.

Pulling at the restraints that held his feet and wrists, Tai couldn't help but whimper piteously before another voice reached his frantic ears.

"_Tai, calm down. Take it easy."_

A hand on his shoulder and a messy mop of blonde hair and sharp blue eyes stared at him as Tai whimpered once more, fighting the restraints. His eyes wide, his begged in a broken voice that sounded nothing like Tai, rough and gravelly with disuse and raw from his screaming only a minute ago; a broken little thing.

"_Matt, please."_

Matt felt his heart wrench at the sight of his best friend. He was so terrified, so broken, and he couldn't blame him in the slightest. He didn't know what Tai was begging him for, and maybe he didn't want to know. The doctor took the moment of Tai being still to inject the sedative into Tai's bloodstream. It seemed to take effect quickly, because Tai's muscles slackened their fight and his eyes slowly closed. Matt took his hand off of his shoulder as Tai sank into the bed, a pale broken thing.

Glaring at the doctor, Matt growled out. _"Take those off of him, you idiot."_ The doctor stammered some excuse about the patient being a danger to himself and those around him. Rounding on the man, Matt let his rage be known. _"Have you not read their files? What part of 'abuse situation' do you not understand you moron? Get those off of him before he wakes up and has another panic attack!"_

Bystanders outside could hear him rip the doctor a new one before he complied, releasing Tai's restraints before he re-connected the IV that he'd ripped from his arm.

Matt glared at him the entire time before the doctor scuttled out, looking like he'd just been threatened with death by the Ishida. Koromon slowly edged out from under the bed, hopping onto Tai's legs before he took residence on his chest again. Only this time, Tai's arms subconsciously came around to hug the little Digimon. He murmured unintelligible things in his sleep, but one stood out.

"_I missed you too, Koromon."_

:End of Chapter 6:


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